The Qur'an: Book of War
Par adi se is guar ant eed to tho se who "sl ay and are sla in" for All ah:
"Allah hath purchased of the believers their persons and their goods; for
theirs (in return) is the garden (of Paradise) : they fight in His cause, and
slay and are slain: a promise binding on Him in truth" (Qur'an 9:111).
One may attempt to spiritualize such verses, but there is no doubt from
the historical record that Muhammad meant them literally.
PC Myth: The Qur'an teaches tolerance and peace
But wait a minu te: Does n't the Qur'a n real ly teac h tole ranc e and
peac e?Sure, there areafew bad verses here and there, but there are also a
lot ofverses that affirm the brotherh ood of man and the equality and
dignity ofall people, right?
No.The closest the Qur'an comes actually to counseling tolerance or
pea cef ul coe xis ten ce is to cou nse l bel iev ers to lea ve the unb eli eve rs
alon e in their erro rs: "Say: 0 disbe liev ers! I worsh ip not that which ye
worsh ip: nor worshi p ye that which I worsh ip. And 1 shall not worshi p
that which ye worshi p. Nor will ye worshi p that which I worsh ip. Unto
yo u yo ur re li gi on , an d un to me my re li gi on " (Q ur 'a n 10 9: 1-6). Of
cours e, they are to be left alone so that Allah can deal with them: "And
have pati ence with what the y say. and leav e the m wit h nobl e dign ity.
And leav e Me alon e to deal with thos e in poss essi on of the good
thin gsof life , who yet deny the Trut h; and hear wit h them for a litt le
whil e"(Qur'an 73:10-11).
Above all, no Muslim should force anyone to accept Islam: "Let there
he no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error: whoever
rejects evil and believes in Allah bath grasped the most trustworthy hand-
hold, that never breaks" (Qur'an 2:256).
But is this really tolerance the way that modern Westerners understand
it? It might be a reasonable facsimile if that were all the Qur'an has to say
about the subject. But it isn't.